January E-News

No break for all of us ‘Satin Stitchers’ over the holidays, as we have many team orders to continue to delivery for your performances! We do hope that you and your performance groups were able to have a holiday break, before you jump right back into performing and completing this season.

We know you work hard and we want to see your performances, so please send us your photos and videos!

If you are needing new team costumes and uniforms, please submit your information and design ideas to us, to fulfil your wants and desires (at least with your team costumes!) Our guaranteed turnaround time is shorter this time of the year. Check our DANCE TEAM (pom & cheer also) Guaranteed Delivery Schedule and our show choir/concert dress/solo costume Guaranteed Delivery Schedule and hint…hint…hint…check out our January“Web Only” Specials for even faster delivery for teams!

AND remember that our ‘Early Bird’ Discounts start next month!

Spot Cleaning

What do you do when the armpits of your hard-to-clean costume get a little less than desirable or you're unexpectedly bumped during dinner and spill some chili on your uniform? It's moments like these that require acting fast with spot cleaning! Or, maybe your costume is made of un-launderable fabrics?

When you have a costume or uniform that is potentially difficult to launder by usual methods such as dry cleaning or machine and/or hand washing, rather than just wearing it dirty, you can target specific areas by spot cleaning.

For flawless spot cleaning technique, simply follow these guidelines:

NEVER try anything on the 'front and center' area of your costume first, just in case something horrible happens! If you can test your spot cleaning on an unobtrusive area of your costume first, that is preferred.

First, grab a neutral colored wash cloth and a small dab of some sort of soap - liquid laundry detergent, bath soap, hand soap and even dish soap will work! Neither the type nor the brand is important. The key is to use only a 'small dab'. Moisten your wash cloth and add just a touch of the soap. Gently rub the area that has been soiled, so that the spot becomes slightly wet. Be careful not to create suds, simply use your washcloth and 'small dab' of soapy water to dislodge the stain or dirt.

Do not get the soiled area too wet or rub too much. This will help protect against problems with the fabric.

Once you have successfully spot cleaned your costume,you will need to dry the area. The best option is to use a neutral colored dry towel to blot or 'feather' the area. This 'feathering' technique avoids creating a ring where the wet area was, by diffusing the wetness. To dry, gently rub the dry towel onto the edge of the wet area, pulling the moisture awayfrom the wet areaand into the dry area.

Finally, allow the costume to dry naturally. If you are in a hurry, place the wet area in front of a fan or (worst case scenario) use a hair dryer's cold setting or a public bathroom hand-dryer. If you see a ring forming, as it is drying, redo your ‘feathering’ between the dry and wet areas.

If your soapy water doesn't do the trick, you might need to try some other options. Refer to several articles posted on our website that can be helpful for stubborn stains.

Satin Stitches Ltd. is the only national custom costume manufacturer that specializes in high quality dance, show choir and procheer costumes and uniforms that was founded by a professional fashion designer. Satin Stitches Ltd. was created nearly 40 years ago, and has always specialized in custom performance apparel.